MERCER COUNTY Grove City board, teachers ratify contract

Teachers will be picking up more of their health-care expenses.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Teachers in the Grove City Area School District will get annual pay raises of 3.69 percent in each of the next five years under terms of their new contract.
Both the 189-member teachers union and the school board ratified the terms of the new pact Monday.
The current five-year contract expires July 31.
The new agreement raises the starting salary from $33,356 this year to $34,446 next year. The maximum salary (master's degree plus 60 credits) stood at $56,286 this year and will rise to $58,146 next year.
The current average teacher salary is $49,600.
Teachers already contribute $10 per month toward their family health insurance policy and that won't change, but Dr. Robert Post, superintendent, said the contract increases employee participation in other health-care costs. It also provides increases in tuition reimbursement and other benefits for teachers, he said.
Other contract items
In addition to the wage increases, other contract highlights include:
U Doctor office visits copay goes from $5 to $15 for the first four years and to $20 in the fifth year.
U Emergency room service, which has cost nothing, will go to $50 copay per visit in the first year.
U Prescription copays for brand drugs go from $10 to $20 in the first year. The copay of $5 for generic drugs remains the same.
U Deductibles for hospital admissions, laboratory work and similar medical services go from zero to $100 per year for individual and $200 per year for family coverage for the first two years and to $100 for individual and $300 for family coverage in the last three years.
U Tuition reimbursement goes up $15 per year in each year of the new agreement. The current maximum is $240 per credit.
U All supplemental coaching and service contracts will rise by 3.5 percent in each year of the contract.
U Longevity payments for teachers with 15-19 years of service will rise from the current $450 annual increment to $600 beginning in the third year of the contract. Longevity for teachers with 20-26 years will rise from $600 to $800 in the third year. Teachers with 27 or more years of service will still receive a $2,500 annual payment.